Academic Commons Search Resultshttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog.rss?f%5Bdepartment_facet%5D%5B%5D=Biobehavioral+Sciences&q=&rows=500&sort=record_creation_date+desc
Academic Commons Search Resultsen-usEfficacy of Home-based Intensive Bimanual Training for Children with Unilateral Spastic Cerebral Palsyhttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:187583
Ferre, Claudio Luishttp://dx.doi.org/10.7916/D8M61JB5Tue, 12 May 2015 15:52:54 +0000Neuroplasticity research suggests intervention at early developmental stages is optimal for maximizing recovery of function in children with unilateral spastic cerebral palsy (USCP). Intensive bimanual training is an effective method for improving upper-extremity function in children with USCP when provided in massed-practice day camps. Given the challenges young children face sustaining attention and their susceptibility to fatigue, adapted models using distributed practice are required. The aim of this study was to perform a randomized trial comparing home-based hand-arm bimanual intensive training (H-HABIT) with a control group receiving an intervention of equal duration, intensity, and social interaction. Twenty-four children with USCP (age range 2 yr., 6 mos. - 10 yr. 1 mos.) were randomized to participate in either 90 hours of H-HABIT (n=12) or an equivalent dose of functional lower-limb training (FLL-control; n=12). Caregivers were trained by experienced interventionists to administer either H-HABIT or FLL-control. Caregivers then performed activities with children in their own home 2 hrs./day, 5 days/week for 9 weeks (90 hrs. total). Caregivers were supervised remotely once a week for one hour using telerehabilitation. Dexterity was assessed using the Box and Blocks test. Bimanual hand function was measured using the Assisting Hand Assessment (AHA). Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) was used to assess caregiver perception (performance and satisfaction) of functional goals. All measures were assessed immediately prior to (pretest) and immediately after (posttest) the intervention and analyzed with a 2(group) x 2(session) repeated measures ANOVA. There were no statistical differences between the two groups at baseline. Children in H-HABIT showed greater improvement (pretest=9.0±5.8; posttest=14.5±7.8) than children in FLL-control (pretest=10.6±7.2; posttest=11.9±6.1) on the Box and Blocks test (for interaction, F(1,20)=18.53, p<.001). Neither group demonstrated change on the AHA (F(1,22)=0.89, p>.05) (H-HABIT=60.5 AHA units±10.1; FLL-Control=52.8 AHA units±17.1). COPM data revealed a significant test session by group interaction (F(1,22)=10.82, p<.01) with caregivers of children in H-HABIT rating higher goal performance (pretest=2.9±1.0; posttest=6.8±1.3) relative to FLL-control (pretest=2.7±1.0; posttest=4.5±1.7). Caregivers in both groups showed equal improvement between the two sessions (F(1,22)=115.63, p<.001) in ratings of satisfaction of goal performance (pretest=3.8±1.8; posttest=7.3±1.1 for H-HABIT and pretest=2.3±1.0; posttest=4.7±1.8 for FLL-control). Children in H-HABIT made greater improvements in dexterity and parent-rated goal performance. This is the first randomized trial to examine the efficacy of intensive bimanual training with caregivers as interventionists—a model which permits intervention at younger ages when there may be greater potential for improving hand function. Using caregivers as a way to implement intensive interventions provides a cost-effective alternative to expensive clinic-based interventions. Home-based models provide a valuable intervention approach to add to the repertoire of options clinicians have to chose from when developing individualized treatment programs for children and their families.KinesiologyBiobehavioral SciencesDissertationsNeural Correlates of Embodiment in Action Verb Meaning: Entrenched Versus Translated Formshttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:176824
Kim, Sungbonghttp://dx.doi.org/10.7916/D8319T2JMon, 07 Jul 2014 00:00:00 +0000The purpose of the present study is to test whether symbol grounding for action verbs occurs in entrenched native verb forms, and whether they transfer to novel verb forms that are acquired as explicit translations of existing verbs. The entrenched and novel verbs were referred to here as L1 verbs and L2 verbs respectively, and were used as analogs of meanings in first and second language learning. Symbolic grounding was investigated by observing behavioral data in lexical decision tasks, and scalp electrophysiological signals using 128-channel EEG data. The present study used different kinds of action verbs (e.g., verbs of foot movement, such as kick or jump, and verbs of hand movement, such as swipe or grab) and abstract verbs, such as learn or plan. Previous researchers have provided empirical evidence showing that when action verbs are accessed in reading, there is concomitant activation of primary motor and/or somatosensory cortex. The established relationships of action verbs in L1 and their sensorimotor groundings as a reference were used to determine successful transfer of groundings of L1 words to L2 words. By observing the responses to the L2 words that are acquired through symbolic manipulation without perceptual or bodily experiences and examining, it can be determined if they produce similar neural activations as in those found in L1 words, and we can test whether the symbol-grounding-transfer occurs in part or in whole, given this minimal learning context. The behavioral measure was a lexical decision task where the participants respond to meaningful words (foot-related verbs or hand-related verbs) with two kinds of response modalities (button press with a finger or foot pedal press with a foot). Although either facilitation (foot verb to foot movement and hand verb to hand movement) or interference (Foot verb to hand movement and hand verb to foot movement) effect of action verbs was expected, the results showed that the participants consistently responded faster to the L1 English verbs than to the L2 verbs and responded faster with finger-pressing button box than foot-pressing pedal. However, at the slowest response times condition, the condition of foot-pedal pressing to L2 words, the facilitation effect of Foot related verbs was observed. The response times of foot pedal pressing to L2 Foot-related verbs were significantly faster than both L2 Hand-related verbs (p=.003) and abstract verbs (p=.005) at the paired t-test. This result is consistent with the research hypothesis and provides partial evidence supporting the assumption that the Foot-related action verbs have close link with sensorimotor cortex associated with foot movement and reading those verbs will facilitate corresponding body movement. The three kinds of EEG data analysis methods were used in the current study: Event Related Potential (ERP) component analysis, EEG topographic analysis, and EEG source localization with low resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (LORETA). The ERP components were used to examine the effect of language (L1 vs. L2) and lexicality (Word vs. Non-word) in terms of amplitudes and temporal points of ERP components. The EEG topographic analysis and EEG source localization with LORETA are methods for spatiotemporal analysis, which provide information on intracranial neural activations that are sources of scalp electric signals. When ERP components of the montaged electrodes placed on the central area of the scalp (vertex and neighboring 14 electrodes) were examined, the P3 component for L1 (at around 390~400ms) reached its peak earlier that that of L2 (495~505ms). Topographic analysis results that compared topographic maps created by different verb groups provided evidence that different configurations of the neuronal activations were created by the verb groups representing body movements of different body parts. In addition, by means of the source localization analysis with the LORETA, the differential neural activations at sensorimotor cortex were observed when the brain activations elicited by L1 Foot related and Hand related verbs were compared. At both temporal windows, early (126~134ms) and late (318~322ms), the regions of the sensorimotor cortex associated with Hand movement were activated significantly more by the Hand related verbs than Foot related verbs. In order to test Harnad's symbol grounding transfer hypothesis, the neural activations at the sensorimotor cortex elicited by L2 Foot verbs and the L2 Hand verbs were examined in comparison with those of the abstract verbs. Significant larger activations were elicited by both of the action verbs over the abstract verbs. To summarize, the current study provided the neurophysiological evidence on the symbol grounding at L1 word and the symbol grounding transfer at L2 words by exhibiting links between the regions of sensorimotor cortex and L1 and L2 action verbs in terms of differential neural activations elicited by the verb groups.Cognitive psychology, Neurosciences, Educational psychologyCognitive Studies in Education, Biobehavioral SciencesDissertationsPerception of American English Vowels by Spanish-English bilingual listenershttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:175948
Garcia, Paulahttp://dx.doi.org/10.7916/D8X0656FMon, 07 Jul 2014 00:00:00 +0000Cross-linguistic studies have demonstrated that learning of a second language (L2) is influenced by the phonological system of the native language (L1), with L2 learners forming mental representations of new, non-native sounds by a process of assimilation to familiar native sounds (Best, 1995; Flege, 1995). Adult sequential successive bilingual Spanish-English speakers may be specifically challenged in perceiving and acquiring American English (AE) vowel contrasts that are signaled by multiple cues not phonemically relevant in their native language. Much of the existing research on vowel perception in L1-Spanish adults has focused on the AE vowel contrast /i/ vs. /ɪ/, as in sheep vs. ship, because discrimination errors between these two vowels are common (Escudero, 2000; Morrison, 2006; 2008; 2009). However, other vowel contrasts /ʌ/-/ɑ/ (as in hut vs. hot) have also been reported to present perceptual challenges for native Spanish-speaking learners of English (Flege, Munro & Mackay, 1995; Escudero & Chládková, 2010). It is assumed that such perceptual issues contribute to poor performance in second language acquisition and processing, and have implications for access to employment and academic opportunities for a large and growing immigrant population in the United States (Labor Employment and Training Administration Report, 2005). The aim of this study is to implement electrophysiological and behavioral methods to further elucidate the perceptual and processing abilities of L1-Spanish adult learners of English, while examining less-studied AE vowel contrasts /ʌ/-/ɑ/, and to evaluate whether specific properties of these speech sounds, such as spectral and duration differences, contribute directly to difficulties encountered in L2 acquisition. More specifically, in this study we will examine response accuracy and reaction time, as well as Mismatch Negativity (MMN) and P300 Event-Related Potentials in two listening conditions: natural vowel duration, where target vowel sounds are presented naturalistically, and neutral vowel duration, in which speech sound discrimination is possible based on spectral cues alone. Event Related Potentials (ERPs - MMN and P300) are neurophysiological indices that can reflect native and non-native mental phonological representations. Findings from the pilot study that utilized natural and neutralized duration speech sounds revealed behavioral and neurophysiological differences between Spanish-English bilingual listeners and native English speakers responses to natural AE vowel contrasts. This raised a question of whether adult Spanish-English bilinguals relied on speech cues in a similar fashion to native English speakers when perceiving these AE vowel contrasts. It is understood that language-specific use of speech cues (e.g. spectral and durational) helps to distinguish between perceptually similar speech sounds. Therefore, it was assumed that removal of duration distinctions between the target vowels would reveal any underlying differences in the processing mechanism and how much L1-Spanish listeners rely on durational cues to perceive subtle differences between vowel pairs. Findings from this dissertation study indicate that adult sequential Spanish-English bilingual listeners (Study group) showed indices of discrimination and identification of AE vowel /ɑ/ but not /ʌ/ at the attentional level, when both spectral and durational information about the vowels was perceptually available in the natural vowel duration condition, but also when duration was neutralized leaving only spectral cues available to distinguish the vowels. The current findings show that Spanish-English bilinguals may use spectral and durational cues, like native English speakers, to perceive the English vowel contrast /ɑ/-/ʌ/. However, this cannot be described as an "end state" in the sense of Escudero (2005), since the neurophysiological evidence shows that these L2 learners are able to reach native-like discrimination only when they recruit attentional and cognitive resources to facilitate the perceptual process.Linguistics, NeurosciencesBiobehavioral Sciences, Speech and Language PathologyDissertationsRisk Factors For Dysphagia in Critically-Ill Patients With Prolonged Orotracheal Intubationhttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:176095
Nizolek, Karahttp://dx.doi.org/10.7916/D8SX6BCTMon, 07 Jul 2014 00:00:00 +0000Dysphagia after prolonged orotracheal intubation is reported to increases a patient's risk for aspiration, leading to increased risk for morbidity and mortality. Identification of specific risk factors that may predispose a patient to post-extubation dysphagia and aspiration risk is important. However, previous studies have not consistently identified concrete risk factors of post-extubation dysphagia in critically-ill patients. This two part study sought to identify specific risk factors for post-extubation dysphagia and increased aspiration risk in critically-ill patients. Study A retrospectively and Study B prospectively examined 70 medical and surgical ICU patients who endured mechanical ventilation for >/= 72 hours. Study A participants underwent either a Modified Barium Swallow Study (MBS) or Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES) examination to objectively identify swallowing disorders. Two independent reviewers analyzed charts from a Speech Pathology database for post-extubation dysphagia. Study B participants underwent a FEES examination to objectively assess swallowing function. Two expert Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) that were blinded to the patient's medical diagnoses and purpose of the study conducted the FEES examinations and interpreted their outcomes. A third rater analyzed an additional 20 percent of randomly selected swallows. In both studies, participants were clustered into one of 7 admission diagnoses groups, and one of 5 reasons for intubation groups. Duration of intubation, gender, reintubation, Penetration Aspiration Scale (PAS outcomes) and 4 Point Dysphagia Severity Scale Ratings were analyzed. The results of Study A (retrospective) revealed that age and duration of intubation were independently associated with post-extubation dysphagia severity. The odds of a participant presenting with a more severe dysphagia was increased by 7.5% for each additional year of age (p= 0.009). The odds of a participant presenting with a more severe dysphagia severity rating was increased by 48.2% for each additional day of intubation (p=0.032). Age and duration of intubation were also independently associated with aspiration. The odds of a participant exhibiting aspiration was increased by 4.1% for each additional year of age (p=0.018). The odds of a participant exhibiting aspiration was increased by 25% for each additional day of intubation (p=0.004). Reintubation (0=0.008) was significantly associated with dysphagia severity. Pneumonia (p=0.034) was also significantly associated with increased aspiration risk. The Results of Study B (prospective) demonstrated that age was independently associated with post-extubation aspiration risk. The odds of a participant exhibiting aspiration was increased by 4.5% for each additional year of age (p=0.027). Admission diagnosis, particularly infectious, was significantly associated with aspiration (p=0.046). Excellent inter-rater reliability was demonstrated for 20% of patient's overall dysphagia severity ratings (r=0.918). In conclusion, age was independently significantly associated with increased post-extubation dysphagia severity and aspiration. Further investigation is warranted to examine the risk factors that were only found to be significant in one of the two studies, i.e. duration of intubation, presence of PNA, reintubation and admission diagnosis.Speech therapy, MedicineBiobehavioral Sciences, Speech and Language PathologyDissertationsMechanisms and Magnitude of Cenozoic Crustal Extension in the Vicinity of Lake Mead, Nevada and the Beaver Dam Mountains, Utahhttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:176196
Almeida, Rafaelhttp://dx.doi.org/10.7916/D8DJ5CTGMon, 07 Jul 2014 00:00:00 +0000The central Basin and Range Province of Nevada and Utah was one of the first areas in which the existence of widespread low-angle normal faults or detachments was first recognized. The magnitude of associated crustal extension is estimated by some to be large, in places increasing original line lengths by as much as a factor of four. However, rock mechanics experiments and seismological data cast doubt on whether these structures slipped at low inclination in the manner generally assumed. In this dissertation, I review the evidence for the presence of detachment faults in the Lake Mead and Beaver Dam Mountains areas and place constraints on the amount of extension that has occurred there since the Miocene. Chapter 1 deals with the source-provenance relationship between Miocene breccias cropping out close to Las Vegas, Nevada and their interpreted source at Gold Butte, currently located 65 km to the east. Geochemical, geochronological and thermochronological data provide support for that long-accepted correlation, though with unexpected mismatches requiring modification of the original hypothesis. In Chapter 2, the same data are used to propose a refinement of the timing of ~1.45 Ga anorogenic magmatism, and the distribution of Proterozoic crustal boundaries. Chapter 3 uses geophysical methods to address the subsurface geometry of faults along the west flank of the Beaver Dam Mountains of southwestern Utah. The data suggest that the range is bounded by steeply inclined normal faults rather than a regional-scale detachment fault. Footwall folding formerly ascribed to Miocene deformation is reinterpreted as an expression of Cretaceous crustal shortening. Fission track data presented in Chapter 4 are consistent with mid-Miocene exhumation adjacent to high-angle normal faults. They also reveal a protracted history dating back to the Pennsylvanian-Permian time, with implications for the interpretation of other basement-cored uplifts in the region. A key finding of this dissertation is that the magnitude of crustal extension in this region has been overestimated. The pre-extensional width was increased by a factor of two across Lake Mead, through a combination of high-angle normal faulting and strike-slip deformation. Data from the transect across the Beaver Dam Mountains suggest substantially less extension, with the difference accommodated for the most part by displacement on the intervening Las Vegas Valley Shear Zone. The Colorado Plateau-Basin and Range transition zone may be a long-lived tectonic boundary where this assumption may be especially ill-suited.Geology, Geochemistry, Geophysicsrva2102Biobehavioral Sciences, Earth and Environmental SciencesDissertationsN170 visual word specialization on implicit and explicit reading tasks in Spanish speaking adult neoliterateshttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:171468
Sanchez, Laurahttp://dx.doi.org/10.7916/D8ZP4451Fri, 07 Mar 2014 00:00:00 +0000Adult literacy training is known to be difficult in terms of teaching and maintenance (Abadzi, 2003), perhaps because adults who recently learned to read in their first language have not acquired reading automaticity. This study examines fast word recognition process in neoliterate adults, to evaluate whether they show evidence of perceptual (automatic) distinctions between linguistic (words) and visual (symbol) stimuli. Such a mechanism is thought to be the basis for effortless reading associated with Visual Word Form Area activation that becomes "tuned" to scripts as literacy skills are acquired (McCandliss, Cohen, Dehaene, 2003). High density EEG was recorded from a group of adults who are neoliterate in two reading tasks: (1) a one-back task requiring implicit reading (available only to those who have attained automaticity), and (2) reading verification task, an explicit reading task, in which participants detected mismatches between pairs of visual and auditory words. Results were compared to recordings from a comparison group of adults who learned to read in childhood. Left-lateralized N170 ERP was targeted as an index of automaticity in reading. Participants from the comparison group showed left-lateralized N170 to word stimuli in both the implicit and explicit reading tasks. Conversely, N170 effects were not found on the participants form the study group on either implicit or explicit reading tasks. This suggests that automaticity in reading can be indexed in neoliterate adults using the ERP component N170, and that automaticity had not been acquired by the study group investigated here.Neurosciences, Cognitive psychology, Adult educationlvs2107Biobehavioral Sciences, Speech and Language PathologyDissertationsTrends in Body Mass Index among Icelandic Adolescents and Young Adults from 1992 to 2007http://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:171109
Eiðsdóttir, Sigríður Þ.; Kristjánsson, Álfgeir L.; Sigfúsdóttir, Inga D.; Garber, Carol Ewing; Allegrante, John P.http://dx.doi.org/10.7916/D8MP519VThu, 27 Feb 2014 00:00:00 +0000Trends in body mass index (BMI) among 51,889 14- to 20-year-old Icelandic adolescents and young adults were examined using data from cross-sectional population surveys conducted from 1992 to 2007. Prevalence of overweight increased for both genders in all age groups, except for 14- and 20-year-old girls. Obesity prevalence increased among boys in all age groups, except for 16-year-olds, and among 15- and 20-year-old girls. The largest increase in obesity rates among both genders was found in the oldest age group. Moreover, not only has the prevalence of obesity increased, but also the extent of obesity has grown more severe among 15- and 17-year-olds boys and among girls in the oldest age group.Public health, Behavioral sciencesceg2140, jpa1Sociomedical Sciences, Health and Behavior Studies, Biobehavioral SciencesArticlesVentilatory Mechanics in Endurance Athleteshttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:160585
Layton, Aimee Mariehttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:20162Thu, 02 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000The lungs were once thought to be over-built for exercise. However, upon further research, endurance athletes have been found to reach their maximum ventilation, demonstrating an insufficiency of the lungs to accommodate the demands of highly demanding endurance sport. This knowledge has inspired researchers to look further into the exercise ventilatory responses and, in doing so, researchers discovered that the adaptations of the pulmonary system to endurance training are still not well understood. Potential reasons for this lack of knowledge may be methodological measurement limitations, as ventilatory mechanics have been measured classically either invasively or by breathing maneuvers. These measurements are difficult to perform during high intensity exercise and in large groups of athletes. However, recent innovations in motion analysis technology have allowed for ventilatory mechanics to be measured during high intensity exercise, potentially allowing for further insight into how high intensity endurance training impacts ventilatory mechanics. The purpose of this study is to describe normal ventilatory mechanics during exercise in endurance trained and healthy untrained individuals, explore potential gender differences during exercise and investigate the impact of flow limitation during exercise on ventilatory mechanics, using a motion analysis system that allows researchers to obtain information on chest wall volume changes and chest wall compartmental interactions during high intensity exercise. This motion analysis system is called Optoelectronic Plethysmography (OEP). This dissertation is comprised of an introduction to the work and the 3 projects that comprise the dissertation along with an appendix, which includes a complete literature review. The three projects are as follows (1) an introduction to motion analysis as a tool in measuring ventilatory mechanics, (2) research determining the differences in the ventilatory mechanics in endurance athletes and healthy controls from rest to maximal exercise and (3) the differences in ventilatory mechanics between endurance trained women who demonstrate expiratory flow limitation during high intensity exercise versus endurance trained women who do not. Project 1: Optoelectronic Plethysmography (OEP) is a motion analysis tool that can be used to define exercise ventilatory mechanics by analyzing chest wall movements and calculating volume changes. By analyzing breathing mechanics by motion analysis rather than traditional breathing maneuvers, individual components of the chest wall can be analyzed and changes in volume throughout the chest wall can be assessed without altering the individual's natural breathing pattern. This review presents the history and development of OEP technology, along with a summary of the methods used and a discussion of findings to date, giving insight into exercise ventilatory mechanics never investigated before. Project 2: Differences between the ventilatory mechanics of endurance athletes and non athletes using motion analysis have not yet been described. To determine how increased ventilatory demand impacts ventilatory kinematics, we compared the total chest wall volume variations (VCW) of 18 male and female endurance-trained athletes (ET) to 14 untrained individuals (UT) during exercise. We hypothesized that training and gender would have an effect on VCW and kinematics at maximal exercise. Gender and training significantly influenced chest wall kinematics. Female ET did not change chest wall end-expiratory volume (VCW,ee) or pulmonary ribcage end-expiratory volume (VRCp,ee) with exercise, while female UT significantly decreased VCW,ee and VRCp,ee with exercise (p<0.05). Female ET significantly increased pulmonary ribcage end-inspiratory volume (VRCp,ei) with exercise (p<0.05), while female UT did not change VRCp,ei with exercise. Male ET significantly increased VRCp,ei with exercise (p<0.05); male UT did not. Men and women had significantly different VCW (p <0.05). Women demonstrated the greatest variation of VCW in the pulmonary ribcage compartment (VRCp). Men had similar volumes in the VRCp and the abdomen (VAb). In conclusion, gender and training had a significant association with ventilatory kinematics. Project 3: Research has found potential limitations of the airways to accommodate the large tidal volumes generated during high intensity exercise. This airway limitation has been defined as expiratory flow limitation (EFL) observed during high intensity exercise in a large percentage of healthy women. Because of endurance athletes' ability to exercise at high intensities for prolonged periods of time and produce greater than average tidal volumes, female endurance athletes may be particularly susceptible to EFL and the impact EFL may have on performance. The purpose of this last chapter was to investigate the ventilatory mechanics and exercise capacity parameters of female endurance athletes with and without EFL. Female competitive cyclists participated in two days of testing; day one consisted of a maximal aerobic capacity test (V ̇o2max test) with spirometry and day two involved chest wall motion analysis testing during two steady state exercise tests. Baseline flow volume loops were performed prior to exercise and repeated post exercise. During exercise participants performed flow volume loops at minutes 4, 6, 8 and last 30 seconds of exercise. EFL was considered present when the exercise flow volume loop surpassed the baseline flow volume loop. To quantify the degree of flow limitation when comparing the peak exercise flow volume loop to the baseline flow volume loop, we calculated the percent flow volume loop reserve (%FVL reserve). Two levels of submaximal constant-load exercise bouts (at 60% and 85% maximal watts) were employed to investigate if EEFL impacted ventilatory mechanics differently at different intensities. Optoelectronic plethysmography (OEP) was employed to measure VT from the pulmonary ribcage (VRCp), abdominal ribcage (VRCa) and the abdomen (VAb), as well as to measure end-expiratory volume chest wall volume (EEEV) to calculate potential dynamic hyperinflation. Comparison of participants with and without EFL was made using an ANOVA or Kruskal-Wallis test (p≤0.05). Predictors of %FVL reserve were explored with a multiple linear regression. Two participants were not included in the data analysis due to the presence of asthma (one at rest, one exercise induced) as determined by spirometry during day one testing. Out of the other 28 participants, 6 participants had definite EFL (DEFL) demonstrated by overlapping of the peak exercise flow volume loop with the pre and post exercise flow volume loop, 5 had borderline EFL (BEFL) demonstrated by an overlapping of only the pre exercise flow volume loop and 17 had no EFL (NEFL) demonstrated by no overlapping of the pre or post flow volume loops. All participants had within normal limits of the percent predicted normal reference values in resting forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), forced mid expiratory flow rates (FEF25-75L/sec), forced vital capacity (FVC) and FEV1/FVC ratio. DEFL and BEFL participants' had a significantly lower FEV1/FVC ratio compared to NEFL (p=0.003), DEFL had significantly lower FEF25-75% predicted normal reference values before and after exercise compared to NEFL (p=0.004). There were no differences in the exercise capacity values between groups. During the day two steady state tests, there was a significant interaction effect between groups and exercise intensity in the %VRCa (p=0.045) and % VAb (p=0.049). End-tidal carbon dioxide pressure, FEF25-75%, history of self reported excessive mucus with exercise and % VRCp during the 85% constant load test explained 71.6% of the variability in %FVL reserve in our regression model (p=0.002). Independent predictors of %FVL reserve were: end-tidal carbon dioxide pressure (p=0.033), FEF25-75% (p=0.010) and history of excessive mucus with exercise (0.014). In conclusion, female endurance athletes demonstrating EFL had normal but significantly different FeV1/FVC ratio and significantly different abdominal ribcage and abdomen percent contribution with increased exercise intensity, but similar exercise capacities compared to the female endurance athletes with no EFL. Also, independent predictors of %FVL reserve were found to be FEF25-75%, history of mucus production with exercise and end-tidal carbon dioxide level at peak exercise. This dissertation has provided further insight into the ventilatory mechanics of endurance athletes and how potential airway limitation can impact high intensity exercise. Further research can seek to better understand if the differences in ventilatory mechanics between endurance athletes with EFL and no EFL allow for preservation of exercise capacity in the presence of airway limitationKinesiologyaml2135Biobehavioral SciencesDissertationsChildren's Perception of Conversational and Clear American-English Vowels in Noisehttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:155928
Leone, DorothyFri, 25 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000A handful of studies have examined children's perception of clear speech in the presence of background noise. Although accurate vowel perception is important for listeners' comprehension, no study has focused on whether vowels uttered in clear speech aid intelligibility for children listeners. In the present study, American-English (AE) speaking children repeated the AE vowels /ε, æ, ɑ, ʌ/ in the nonsense word /gəbVpə/ in phrases produced in conversational and clear speech by two female AE-speaking adults. The recordings of the adults' speech were presented at a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of -6 dB to 15 AE-speaking children (ages 5.0-8.5) in an examination of whether the accuracy of AE school-age children's vowel identification in noise is more accurate when utterances are produced in clear speech than in conversational speech. Effects of the particular vowel uttered and talker effects were also examined. Clear speech vowels were repeated significantly more accurately (87%) than conversational speech vowels (59%), suggesting that clear speech aids children's vowel identification. Results varied as a function of the talker and particular vowel uttered. Child listeners repeated one talker's vowels more accurately than the other's and front vowels more accurately than central and back vowels. The findings support the use of clear speech for enhancing adult-to-child communication in AE, particularly in noisy environments.Speech therapydt2138Biobehavioral Sciences, Speech and Language PathologyDissertationsAn Electroencephalogram Investigation of Two Modes of Reasoninghttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:178798
Maddox, Chaille B.http://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:15152Thu, 01 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0000The use of electroencephalography (EEG) to exam the electrical brain activity associated with reasoning provides an opportunity to quantify the functional and temporal aspects of this uniquely human capability, and at the same time expand our knowledge about what a given event-related potential (ERP) might measure. The question of what form of mental representation and transformational processes underlie human reasoning has been a central theme in cognitive psychology since its inception (Chomsky, 1957; McCarthy, 1955; Miller, 1956; Newell, Shaw, Simon, 1958). Two prominent, but competing views remain at the forefront of the discussion, one positing that human inference making is principally syntactic (Braine & O'Brien, 1998; Fodor, 1975; Pylyshyn, 1984; Rips, 1994), and the other that it is, fundamentally, semantic in nature (Gentner & Stevens, 1983; Johnson-Laird, 1983). The purpose of the proposed study is to investigate the neurophysiology of mental model (MM) and mental rule (MR) reasoning using high-density electroencephalography (EEG), with the goal of providing a characterization of the time course and a general estimate of the spatial dimensions of the brain activations correlated with these specific instances of two classic views of reasoning. The research is motivated by two questions: 1) Will violations of expectancy established by the devised MM and MR reasoning strategies evoke the N400 and P600 ERPs, respectively, and 2) Will topographical scalp distributions associated with each reasoning strategy suggest distinct psychological representations and processes? A finding of a N400 response in the MM condition suggests that reasoning about the relations between entities in the type of problems presented engages a network of cortical areas previously shown to be involved in processing violations of semantic expectancies in studies of language comprehension. By comparison, incongruent events in the MR condition are expected to evoke a bilateral anterior P600, a component previously associated with recognizing and restructuring syntactic anomalies or incongruities in sentence comprehension. If the hypothesized results are obtained they would provide potentially insightful information about the chronometry of mental processes associated with the different representations and inference making mechanisms postulated to support each mode of reasoning, and as well, broaden our understanding of the neural functionality associated with the N400 and P600 ERP.Cognitive psychology, Neurosciencescbm2006Cognitive Studies in Education, Biobehavioral SciencesDissertationsNeeds Analysis of Genetics and Genomics in Communication Sciences and Its Disorders: Evidence for Changehttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:147686
Leblanc, Etoile M.http://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:13439Thu, 07 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000Purpose: Signaled by the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003, rapid and escalating discovery in genome science has initiated a paradigm shift in education training and healthcare practices. This shift has required healthcare educators and professionals to possess a level of genetic and genomic literacy and competency. The current study was designed to survey the current state of the perceptions of genetics and genomics in educational and clinical practices within the field speech-language pathology. Method: Seventy-five program directors of degree programs and 265 speech-language pathologists participated in two web-based surveys. Results: Program directors and speech-language pathologist reported to be aware of recent genetic and genomic advancements in speech-language pathology. Ninety-six percent of program directors expected graduated students to demonstrate competency in genetic and genomic related clinical services. Thirty-six percent of program directors reported graduated students were prepared to understand genetics. Seventy-three percent of speech-language pathology programs offered genetic content in their curricula. In comparison, eighty-three percent of speech-language pathologists reported performing genetic related services within their clinical practices. Less than half of respondents reported confidence in performing clinical services. Speech-language pathologists reported minimal to no knowledge of at least 85% of genetic or genomic principles related to speech-language pathology. Sixty-three percent of speech-language pathologists reported their degree-training program had not prepared them to understand genomics in speech-language pathology. Results of a needs index revealed discrepancies between perceptions of speech-language pathologist's performed clinical services and program director's expected competencies, and between level of perceived preparedness and perceived knowledge. Thematic analysis across perceptions, course content, expected competencies, clinical services, and areas of knowledge reflected principles of Mendelian inheritance and single gene disorders. This "medical genetics" perspective is one typically used prior to the completion of Human Genome Project in 2003. Conclusion: The results of this investigative study suggest the field of communication sciences and its disorders is not keeping pace with the demands of new advancements in genetics and genomics. Several discrepancies may contribute to misconceptions and misinformation surrounding genetics and genomic in speech-language pathology. This study provides a foundation for discussion of curriculum reform at the graduate level and policy changes in standard practices of speech-language pathologists at the national level.Speech therapy, Geneticseml2005Biobehavioral Sciences, Speech and Language PathologyDissertations